


The Prank

by blondsak



Series: Seven Sleepless Nights: An Iron Dad Horror Collection [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Halloween, Horror, Some Humor, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-03 04:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21173255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blondsak/pseuds/blondsak
Summary: “Kid, you couldn’t be scary if you tried.”A pause on the other end.“Is that a dare?”Tony rolled his eyes. “Tell you what, if you actually manage to scare me, I’ll get you and  Ted movie premiere passes to that upcoming Star Wars film you keep going on about.”“No way! Um, okay, I gotta think… you just wait Mister Stark, I’m going to freak you out so bad!”“I’m shaking in my boots, Pete,” Tony replied with a smirk before hanging up.





	The Prank

**Author's Note:**

> Some (not all) of the stories in this collection contain MCD. Read at your own risk <3

Tony lets out a low whistle past the fake tobacco pipe in his mouth as he enters the tower penthouse living room. “Damn, Pep really outdid herself.”**  
**

“Did I hear Sherlock Holmes say my name?” Pepper says, coming out into the living room from the kitchen. She’s dressed to look like Margot Tenenbaum, complete with a red barrette in her hair. Tony puts an arm around her, giving her a soft kiss.

“It looks great,” Tony says, gesturing at the room’s wide array of Halloween party decorations, along with a buffet table and curtained photo opp area. Tony walks over and glances behind the curtain. 

Inside are a bunch of stalks of corn. Behind them, against a backdrop painting of a pale, moonlit night rests perhaps the creepiest looking scarecrow Tony has ever seen. It’s stuffed to be as large as a regular human, its apparel ragged. The head is constructed with a worn burlap sack complete with black buttons for eyes, the bag cut open to create a zig-zagged, toothless smile. 

Tony goes to stand in front of it, reaching a hand out to poke its chest only to slowly withdraw his arm before he touches it. He feels a shiver race down his spine as he looks into the black of the scarecrow’s gaping maw– almost as if the scarecrow is staring right back at him.

He comes out from behind the staged photo area to see Pepper on the other side of the room, fiddling with the tray of chocolate rice krispie spiders. Tony throws a thumb at the curtain behind him. “You’re sure that’s not a bit too scary?”

Pepper looks up at him with a slightly confused face, before shrugging his question off with an amused smirk. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of cornfields, Tony.”

“Of course I’m not, I’m talking about the–”

Just then the elevator opens, revealing Rhodey all decked out in a Captain Planet costume.

“Oh Rhodey, thank god you’re here!” Tony says. “Duke Nukem is on his way and he means business. FRI, pull up a_ Planeteer Alert _clip–”

“Watch it, Tones,” Rhodey replies smoothly, looking around. “Don’t tell me I’m the first guest?”

Just then the elevator dings again, three SI employees from Pep’s office stepping out. Tony grins. “Ah, now the party can really start!”

The party has been in full swing for a good hour before Tony realizes the kid hasn’t arrived yet. Which was weird, Tony thought, since the party had been all Peter had been talking about for the last few days. He’d nearly lost his mind when Tony called to invite him.

* * *

_“You mean I’d get to meet all the other Avengers? Oh my god, this is so cool! Can I bring Ned?”_

“Only if he checks his hero worship at the door, kid.”

_“He’s gonna freak! Oh god, that only gives me four days to come up with a costume. I’m going to make it something really scary, Mister Stark.” _

“Kid, you couldn’t be scary if you tried.”

A pause on the other end. _“Is that a dare?”_

Tony had rolled his eyes. “Tell you what, if you actually manage to scare me, I’ll get you and Ted movie premiere passes to that upcoming Star Wars film you keep going on about.”

_“No way! Um, okay, I gotta think… you just wait Mister Stark, I’m going to freak you out so bad!”_

“I’m shaking in my boots, Pete,” Tony had answered with a smirk before hanging up.

* * *

Peter had seemed so genuinely excited then. But looking around at the partygoers again - none of them the kid - has Tony’s emotions going back and forth between worried and suspicious. He walks over toward the abandoned photo area, pulling out his phone to give the kid a call. Before he can even open his contacts he sees the curtain move just a tiny bit out of the corner of his eye. Tony catches a glimpse of a muddy farm boot peeking out at the bottom before it disappears back behind the black drapes.

_Oh, you little shit, _Tony thinks with a smile, knowing if he said as much aloud the kid would be able to hear him. _I’ll show you– nobody pulls a fast one on Tony Stark._

He opens his texts with Peter. 

**Mister Stark:** _ Hey underoos, where are you? Party’s raging._

Less than a minute later his phone pings.

**Peter: ** _Ned’s putting on vampire make-up and taking FOREVER argh…. Be there soon! Get ready to be SCARED!!_

Tony gives a skeptical hum, looking back at the curtain. He considers grabbing Pepper and going back there to take a photo only to jump at the kid and scare him first, but immediately changes his mind. It’d be more fun to wait the kid out– to make him squirm with impatience.

_If he waits all night I’ll get him the passes anyway, _Tony decides with a smirk before going back to join his guests.

For the next two hours Tony goes back and forth between mingling and watching the curtain every time a costumed group goes back to take a photo. 

He receives a text from Ned a little after ten, informing him that _Peter said to tell you we had a hiccup on the way there, Mr. Stark._

_Hiccup_ is Peter-speak for “something Spider-Man related came up,” and Tony nearly asks FRI to pull up the kid’s bio-stats out of sheer habit before laughing to himself and putting his phone away.

* * *

By 11pm Tony and Pepper are bidding adieu to the final guests and Peter still hasn’t emerged from behind the curtain.

As the elevator door closes, Pepper turns to Tony with a tired sigh. “Well, I guess we should start cleaning this up…”

Tony shakes his head, giving her a peck on the cheek. “You go to bed, Pep. I’ll take care of all the foodstuffs and we can do the rest tomorrow.”

Pepper smiles, squeezing Tony’s bicep gratefully before disappearing down the hallway toward their bedroom.

Tony’s at the buffet table gathering up plates, his back to the curtain when he hears it billow slightly. He sets down the dishes, turning around with a smirk to see Peter standing across the room, still fully dressed in his (admittedly creepy) scarecrow outfit. 

“Well, underoos, I know you probably feel like a failure that I caught on to your ruse so quickly but I gotta say, A-plus for effort anyway. Now how about you take off that sack and help me clean up, and we can discuss those premiere passes?”

Peter doesn’t say anything, merely cocking his head to the side. Tony lets out a melodramatic sigh, rolling his eyes. “Kid, the jig is up. Also that costume is sort of freaking me out so if you’d be so kind–”

Just then Tony’s phone rings. He looks down, pulling it out of his pocket to see _PETER PARKER_ flashing across the screen.

Tony rolls his eyes at Peter again before pressing the answer button and bringing the phone to his ear. “Hello Ned.”

_“Mister Stark?”_

Tony nearly drops the phone in surprise, eyes darting back up to the scarecrow, who is now slowly lumbering across the room toward him.

_“Mister Stark, are you there? I am so so so sorry I missed your party! Ned was taking forever getting his fake blood just right and then on the way there we ran into not one, not two but THREE hiccups and–”_

“I gotta go, kid,” he croaks out.

_“Mister Stark? Is everything–”_

Tony hangs up, arm falling limply to his side as with the other one he activates an arm gauntlet, raising it to aim right between the scarecrow’s button eyes.

“Who are you?” he whispers, trying to hide how hard his body is quaking. The scarecrow doesn’t answer, just takes another step forward, only feet from Tony now. “Answer me or I’ll shoot! _Who are you?_”

The only response he receives is a wide, jagged grin.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! Or come visit me on [tumblr](https://blondsak.tumblr.com/) if you want to scream at me directly!
> 
> Finally, make sure to subscribe to the series for more iron dad horror stories <3 <3 <3


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